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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

B2 May Turn Out to the World's Largest Uncompleted Modular Project

That partially completed building at the corner of Dean St. and Flatbush Ave. may
turn out to be a mausoleum of Bruce Ratner’s grandest dream.

On Tuesday, Swedish giant Skanska bailed out of its contract
with the visionary real estate titan to construct the world’s tallest
pre-fabricated tower — ensuring that the building will remain in limbo for the
foreseeable future, if it gets built at all.

B2 Stalled and Sitting at 10 Stories

At present, the building — which Ratner boasted would “crack
the code” for affordable construction in the city — stands at just 10 of its
proposed 32 stories.

The termination of the contract is the latest in a flurry of
legal jabs in the bout between Skanska and Ratner’s development firm over
delays and cost overruns at the Atlantic Yards building.

A Skanska spokeswoman said Forest City Ratner Companies had
refused to address a number of issues, including an allegedly flawed design for
the tower.

“We could not continue to incur millions of dollars in extra
costs with little hope that ForestCity would take responsibility for fixing the
significant commercial and design issues on the project,” Skanska USA COO Richard
Kennedy said in a statement.

Earlier this summer, Skanska halted work at the site, idling
more than 150 union workers. Skanska and Forest City Ratner then traded
lawsuits, blaming each other for the snafus at the project.

The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New
York, which represents the union contractors, declined to comment.

Skanska is just trying to gain financial leverage and get a
better deal from the company by halting construction at the site, Ratner’s officials
contend.

“These are deplorable and disappointing tactics that show
remarkable indifference to the wellbeing of these workers and the project,”
said MaryAnne Gilmartin, president and CEO of Forest City Ratner. “We will
continue to rigorously pursue our options through the courts to get (the B2
tower) built.”

But what will happen to the unfinished building is unclear.

Ratner cannot go ahead with construction using another
contractor, since Skanska still owns a stake in project, including the plant
where the pre-fabricated modules are built. Skanska has rejected Ratner’s bid
to take over the project.

The property was slated to be the first residential building
at Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development, which once called for 16 skyscrapers
around the BarclaysCenter, comprising 6,000
units of housing.